The More the Merrier

by Stephanie Barden

  “It would be so, so great!” I agreed.

  “Even if we don’t win,” said Erin, “we have to beat the Rosemarys.”

  “Deal,” I said. “Rosemary T. is a very good speller, though.”

  “We’ll have to be careful she doesn’t find out how hard we’re studying,” said Erin.

  “It’ll be our super top secret,” I said.

  “Yeah,” said Erin. “I’ll have my mom call your mom to make plans.”

  “Be sure to have your mom call tonight,” I said. “My parents leave on their trip tomorrow.”

  “Your Aunt Flora is coming to stay, right?” said Erin.

  “Right,” I said. “It will be awesome.”

  “Flora’s awesome.” Erin knew that because my Aunt Flora was her dental hygienist.

  “I’m glad you like her,” I said. “Not everybody likes going to the dentist.”

  “Well, I do,” said Erin. “I like the TV to watch while your teeth are getting clean and the prizes afterward.”

  “Me too.” I had to yell, because the bell rang, saying lunch recess was over.

  When we got into class, we had gym and then math and then Table Book Talks. That is something Mr. Harrison invented, and this is how it works. We read any book we want and then we take turns giving a book talk at our table, just like a real-life librarian. We’re supposed to speak slowly and clearly so our audience can understand us and start with the title and author and the book’s Main Theme. The Main Theme means what the book is mostly all about. Next we have to give a few examples that support the Main Theme. At the end of our talk we can recommend the book to our table if we think it was really good.

  Logan went first.

  “I’m reading Dinosaur Dining by Natalie Ann Westberg. It’s mostly all about what dinosaurs used to eat, and that is the Main Theme. To give a few examples of this, Diplodocus was a herbivore, and Megalosaurus was a huge carnivore and might have been a scavenger too.”

  “Does -ur- before mean ‘vegetarian’?” I knew carnivore meant “meat eater,” but I wasn’t sure about that -ur- thing.

  “Yes,” said Logan, “but it’s her-bivore, you know, like herbs and plants.”

  “Got it,” I said.

  “I’m only to the Ns,” said Logan, “but I would highly recommend this book.”

  “It sounds vexylent.” I tried out a new word I’d just come up with then and there. Like I mentioned before, one of my favorite things to do nowadays is invent new words. When I come up with a really good one, I send it to the dictionary people and try to get them to add it.

  Logan pricked up his ears because he likes vocabulary words too. “Is that good or bad?”

  “Very, extremely excellent,” I said.

  He nodded.

  Next went Trevor.

  “I’m reading about Ants from A to Z by Malcolm Shure.”

  “Speak slower and clearer,” said Christopher. “Jack is talking so loud I can’t hear you.”

  Trevor started again. “I’m reading about Ants from A to Z by Malcolm Shure. It’s mostly all about ants, but it does talk about bees a little; but ants are the Main Theme. It starts with army ants and ends with weaver ants. Those are my two examples.”

  “Does it talk about ant farm ants?” I asked. “Tess just got some, and we don’t know much about them.”

  “I’m not sure,” said Trevor. “I’ll do some research and let you know.”

  “Thanks,” I said.

  “And also I would highly recommend this book,” he added.

  “It sounds vexylent,” said Christopher.

  I gave him a thumbs-up for using my word.

  I was about to book talk my book, which was Poppy and Rye by Avi, but the bell rang and that meant it was the end of school.

  “We’ll finish up with these Monday,” said Mr. Harrison. “Remember, next week is a busy one. There’ll be spelling bees Monday and Friday, and in between we have visitors stopping in to tell us about their careers. Have a great weekend, everyone!”

  Everyone told him to have a great weekend too, and we went out to get it started.

  Chapter 3

  A Flying Green Sneaker

  “Can you take a picture of me and Tess jumping up and down and yelling?”

  My mom’s eyebrow went up, but only a little bit, which is just fine. It’s the way she asks “Why?” without having to say it out loud.

  “I want to include it in my letter to the dictionary people,” I said.

  My mom put a few more things in her suitcase and tried to close the lid. “What word are you suggesting this time?”

  “Vexylent,” I said. “I just came up with it yesterday during Table Book Talks. It’s short for ‘very, extremely excellent,’ and I think having a picture of how it feels will help.”

  “I’m sure it wouldn’t hurt,” said my mom. “Can you sit on this so I can zip it up?”

  I climbed up on her bed and then on top of her suitcase. “You know, the Vs have a very scrimpy section in the dictionary. It’s full of good words, like vicious and voracious; but it could use some more.”

  The zipper finally made it around just as Tess ran into the room.

  “Woilà!” This time she remembered to put on her pants.

  My mom held up the camera. “Say cheese.”

  “No! Act like something vexylent happened!” I said.

  I climbed off the bed, and we started jumping up and down and yelling like our team just made a touchdown.

  One of Tess’s green sneakers flew off, and that got me wondering if Tess was going to have a problem with shoes like me. I vowed right then and there to keep an eye on her feet as much as I could. I also vowed right then and there to name and address all her shoes like I always do to mine.

  “Got it,” said my mom. “Do you want me to print it up?”

  “Yes, please!” I ran off to finish my letter superquick before Aunt Flora came.

  The place that I ran off to was my bedroom, which looks very different nowadays. Last weekend we moved my old bed into Tess’s room. It was time for her to have a bed without a bar across to keep her from falling out. I didn’t mind one little bit either, because I got a brand-new bunk bed out of the deal. Now I have a place for a friend to sleep when I have sleepovers, which I just love to have, especially with Erin.

  “Ta-da!” Tess ran into my room waving the printed-up picture of us feeling vexylent.

  “Thank you.” I sealed up the letter and followed her out to the living room.

  My mom and dad were finishing getting ready, so Tess and I stood by our big front window and waited for Aunt Flora and her cat to arrive. I mean, WAITED FOR AUNT FLORA AND HER CAT TO ARRIVE! All in capitals! I have wanted a pet for my whole entire life, and now I got to have one for a whole entire week.

  Aunt Flora’s cat is named Miss Purvis. She’s kind of an old-lady cat and is only a little bit friendly. When we go over to Aunt Flora’s house, Miss Purvis will let us pet her for a few minutes, but then she gets up and leaves. If Tess follows after her and tries to pet her more, she hisses and swipes with her paw. I guess she might not be the greatest pet in the world; but she’s still a pet, so who cares?

  We are not allowed to have a pet for keeps at our house, and that is a great, big Alas. Alas, by the way, is something I say when I’m a little bit frustrated or a little bit sad. If you say it with a big, huge sigh, it makes you feel better; and that makes the Alas thing easier to take. Tess pointed over to Charlie’s driveway, where he was practicing basketball in the pouring-down rain.

  I shook my head and did a big sigh, because no normal person would be outside on a day like today. Tess shook her head and did a big sigh too.

  My dad carried his suitcase into the living room. “Don’t worry, Flora will be here soon.”

  I was about to tell him that we weren’t sighing because of that when I heard the chugging, sputtery noise that the Flying Machine makes. That’s what we call Aunt Flora’s very old sports car since it kind of sounds
like a helicopter. It’s bright orange and has round, froggy headlights that sort of roll open and shut. It used to go very fast, but now it’s pretty slow; and it burps when you turn it off.

  “I hear Flora.” My mom set her suitcase down by my dad’s.

  As soon as the Flying Machine got quiet, we heard a big, loud, growly-meow coming all the way from my aunt’s car. It kept going and going like it was never going to stop, and my mom’s eyebrow went up and up like it was never going to stop either.

  “Is that Miss Purvis?” asked my dad.

  “I think so.” My mom’s eyebrow was still way up. “Maybe you should give Flora a hand.”

  My dad ran out the front door to help, but Tess and I stayed back in the doorway. Part of me wanted to help too, but part of me didn’t want to get all soaking wet. Charlie stopped practicing basketball and stared at my aunt’s car. “Hi, Tinder! Hi, Tess!”

  “Hi, Tarlie!” Tess yelled, and waved like mad.

  My dad ran back toward the house carrying two suitcases, and my aunt followed carrying a cat carrier.

  “Do you need any help?” called Charlie.

  “No thanks, Charlie,” my aunt called back. And FYI, she knew him because she cleans his teeth too, just like Erin’s.

  My aunt set down the cat carrier, and the millions of bracelets she wears jingled and jangled. She took off her black raincoat and was wearing all black underneath because that’s her favorite color. Miss Purvis made a weird, yowly noise that sounded like Halloween.

  My mom gave my aunt a big hug. “Thank you so much for watching the girls.”

  “And ants.” Tess held out her new space-age ant farm all full of blue gel and ant tunnels.

  My aunt kneeled down for a better look. “How cool is that!”

  “It’s vexylent,” I said.

  “It is,” said my aunt. And that is one of the reasons I like her so much. She knew just what my new word meant without asking or anything.

  “I like your bandanna,” I said.

  Aunt Flora looked a little bit like a pirate with her hair that’s the same color as mine hiding under a scarf.

  “Thank you,” she said. “I like your shoes.”

  I was wearing one pink Skecher and one white Skecher because I couldn’t find their mates.

  Miss Purvis’s Halloween yowls got louder, and my mom’s eyebrow started to go up again.

  “Is this too much to ask?”

  “No way,” said my aunt. “We are all going to have a ball.”

  “Yep,” I said, “because the more the merrier!”

  My aunt smiled and tapped her nose, which is our fancy way of saying “You got it.”

  I tapped my nose back.

  My mom’s eyebrow was still up a little bit, but she and my dad gave us big hugs and kisses and headed out the door. Tess started to cry, and Aunt Flora picked Miss Purvis up out of her carrier and put her in Tess’s arms. I think that cat was a little too heavy for Tess, though, because she sort of crumbled to the ground and Miss Purvis crumbled with her. Miss Purvis made the loudest Halloween yowl of all and raced out of the room. Then everything was quiet.

  “Peace at last,” said Aunt Flora.

  “Is Miss Purvis okay?” I asked.

  “She’s fine,” said my aunt. “She’ll explore a little and then find a hiding place. Are you ready for lunch?”

  “Yes!” Tess and I said at the same time.

  “What are you in the mood for?” asked my aunt.

  “How about breakfast?” I said. One of the very fun things about my aunt is that she likes to eat breakfast food any old time of the day and not just in the morning.

  “Sure,” she said. “How about we make Pancake Surprise?”

  “What’s that?” I asked.

  “It starts off like regular pancakes,” said Aunt Flora, “but then you add secret ingredients.”

  “Like what kind of secret ingredients?”

  “Whatever you feel like,” said my aunt. “That’s what makes it a surprise.”

  “I like surprises,” said Tess.

  “Me too,” I said.

  “Well, let’s get to work.”

  So we followed my aunt into the kitchen.

  Chapter 4

  Purple Potion

  I showed Aunt Flora where the pancake mix was way up high, and she reached it down. I measured out the water and only sloshed a little bit out on my way to the bowl.

  “Do you want to stir?” I asked Tess.

  “No, I have to go to the bathroom.”

  “Go for it,” said Aunt Flora.

  “I like company,” said Tess.

  “Okay,” said my aunt. “Can you be in charge of the Pancake Surprise for a little while?”

  “Sure!” I liked the idea of being in charge.

  “Look through the fridge and the cupboards and add anything to the batter that you think would be good.” Aunt Flora headed out of the kitchen.

  I opened up the fridge and pulled out two bananas and a carton of blueberries. Next I scooped in some peanut butter and added a whole bunch of spices. Last I dribbled in ten drops of red food coloring to make the Surprise even more surprising.

  “How’s it coming, Cinderella?” my aunt called from the bathroom.

  “Good,” I said. “Except the Pancake Surprise is too thick to stir.”

  “Add some liquid and use your hands to mix it together,” she said.

  I put some milk into the bowl and started mashing the Pancake Surprise together with my hands. It turned a dark purple and so did I, all the way up to my elbows.

  “Wow.” Aunt Flora and Tess came back into the kitchen. “That’s the most interesting Pancake Surprise I’ve ever seen.”

  “Should we eat it?” I stuck my nose down close and gave a big sniff. “It smells pretty good, even though it looks pretty weird.”

  “Sure we should.” Aunt Flora put a pan on the stove and started heating some oil.

  I went over to the sink and washed my hands. The batter came off, but the purple stayed on. I washed them again. “I think the Pancake Surprise turned me purple.”

  “I guess it was a Purple Potion instead,” said Aunt Flora.

  We sat down and ate the first batch of pancakes, which were actually pretty good.

  “More!” said Tess.

  “Okay.” Aunt Flora went back to the stove and heated more oil.

  A weird knock-bounce-knock-bounce noise came from the front door.

  “What in the world is that?” asked Aunt Flora.

  “That’s Charlie. He can’t do anything without his basketball.” I did a big sigh and went to answer the door. Tess did a big sigh and followed me.

  “Don’t let Miss Purvis out!” called Aunt Flora.

  I opened up the door a crack and kept it in place while we talked. “Hi, Charlie.”

  “Hi, Tarlie!” Tess yelled through the crack in the door.

  “Why aren’t you opening the door?” he asked.

  “Because my aunt’s cat isn’t supposed to go outside,” I said.

  Miss Purvis came running and tried to push through the door with her nose. When it wouldn’t budge, she started to yowl.

  “That is one noisy cat,” said Charlie.

  Miss Purvis yowled louder and stuck her paw through the crack in the door.

  “I should probably close the door,” I said. “I don’t want her to squeeze through.”

  “Okay,” said Charlie. “My mom just told me to come over and tell Flora that if you need anything, we’re right next door.”

  “I’ll tell her.” I reached my hand through the crack to scoop Miss Purvis’s paw back in.

  “Whoa!” said Charlie. “What happened to you?”

  I’d forgotten I was purple. “I had a little problem in the kitchen.”

  “A little problem?” said Charlie.

  “Purple Potion!” yelled Tess.

  “No kidding,” said Charlie.

  I got Miss Purvis’s paw through the crack and shut the door. “
Bye, Charlie.”

  “See ya, Tinder and Tess!” Charlie’s bounces faded down the front walk.

  Tess skipped back to the kitchen. “Tinder and Tess! Tinder and Tess!”

  “What did Charlie want?” asked my aunt.

  “His mom sent him over to say, if you need anything, they’re right next door.”

  “That was nice,” said my aunt.

  We sat down and ate more pancakes. We stuck out our tongues to see if they were turning purple, but only my hands and arms had changed.

  The phone rang, and Aunt Flora answered it. “It’s for you, Cinderella. It’s Erin.”

  “Hi,” said Erin. “Are you ready to come over and practice spelling?”

  “Yep,” I said. “We’re just finishing up lunch.”

  While I waited to be picked up, I washed my hands over and over again and told Aunt Flora all about the spelling bee. Starting in first grade, every class has one, and the three best spellers get a ribbon. Once you’re in third grade, the three best spellers get a ribbon and get to be in the all-school spelling bee. That one is very big and fancy. It’s at night, so all the parents can come after work. The spellers get to be up on the stage in the lunchroom and get to talk into a microphone, which is something I myself have never done.

  “Do your parents know about all this?” asked Aunt Flora.

  “Yep,” I said. “I’m supposed to call and tell them if I make it into the final, and they’re going to try to change their flight and come home a day early. Do you think you can come?”

  “Of course!” said Aunt Flora. “I was so sorry to have to miss your dance recital.”

  “You don’t have to be sorry,” I said. “You were doing something very, extremely important.”

  And that was true. Aunt Flora had been helping fix people’s teeth in some other country.

  “Well, thank you for understanding,” said Aunt Flora, “but I wouldn’t miss your spelling bee for the world.”

  “If I make it, that is,” I said.

  “True,” said Aunt Flora.

  “There’s something more too. Erin and I are planning on being the best spellers in our class. Whoever makes it the furthest in the all-school spelling bee gets to organize a party.”